Tag: Autumn

Metamorphisis

It’s already September and Autumn is around the corner. Summer’s still with us, that is, astronomically speaking. According to the Farmers’ Almanac, on Tuesday, September 22nd, Fall is set to start at 8:04 pm EST. And I realize that Autumn too, will run its course faster than it should, just like the previous 3 seasons.

I’m reminded there’s a chance to keep Daylight Savings Time. I think it’s a worthwhile change; changing batteries, digital displays, analog clocks & watches as well as using the TIME button on your microwave and oven will someday be history. Hopefully. The House of Representatives have voted to keep DST as our standard time, but we still need the Senate to vote. This could be a 5-year plan they’re working on. Our circadian rhythm may have to wait a bit longer.

For some of us, summer’s end is yet another blessing in disguise. Change is the one constant in life. Everything changes from one thing to another. Fall has its own personality.

For me, I look forward to the changes familiar to me, the kind that act like cues, even switches to turn on–or off–elements from my own history, my own state-of-mind. Melancholy rises as these switches of cooler weather, shorter days, falling leaves and other changes have a way of rolling my dysthymia up & down.

Ironically, and perhaps with a hint of contradiction and disconnect, a handful of these cues happen to also reduce the rise of my own melancholy. In other words, there are good days and bad days, and the mutual nature of moods and perceptions carry both a salve and an irritant. Anyone of our 4 seasons does that to me, and likely to others as well.

Light and Duplicity

A common refrain I hear that builds as the days get shorter is the disdain of less daylight. It sours the mood among many of us. On the other hand, the duplicity, or double dealing of, light has its own protagonists. Yes, there are some days that feel more melancholic than others, and its been argued that the deficit of sunlight can be partly responsible for feeling down and out.

Indeed, Seasonal Affective Disorder [SAD] is a real ailment. In fact, psychologists have recommended the use of a therapy lamp to help those with SAD. They work and it genuinely helps my dysthymia. My northernlighttechnologies floor lamp is outstanding. As the days get shorter, this lamp really helps attenuate my depression. It is purpose built and I use it before I turn in for the night. It also makes a good reading light. I recommend you find out as much as you can about light therapy.

Still, a few of us don’t mind the reduction of sunlight. We rediscover sensibilities that come and go once a new season takes hold. The light still exists, but the time of day can contradict expectations. The sun sets earlier, and so evenings start sooner.

As the light dissolves into colors, I find myself downshifting from life’s stresses to simpler, more grounded modes of living. The cooling air beckons me to the tennis court, home & garden projects, more time outside etc. Fall is my favorite season.

I allow myself to feel gratitude. I recall situations and events that brought a smile, a good feeling to that conflicted “inner me” that no one really sees. Am I living in the past? There may be some validity to that notion, however it’s the remembrance of those feelings from each situation that jettisons the discomfort at the edges.
Now, when you make the effort to help/support/comfort someone you care about, then you realize all the work you did to help was well worth the time and effort. Can you do the same for yourself? It takes time and a focused amount of effort.

Changing seasons and the shifting of light are palpable conditions. The ebb and flow of our seasons are with us. They’re all invaluable to us, and each season houses a sentiment that can remind us of our gravitas.

Winter Warmth

Though overcast, there’s a familiar brightness to the grey overhead. It looks and feels like snow is in the air.  Forecasts notwithstanding, we’re expecting to get clobbered here in the northeast with record-cold temperatures.

Winter is en route.

Yet, in spite of this aura of grey that spills over the city, if we look close enough you can find various levels of warmth. Many of the objects seen, displayed and taken for granted in the roteness of our days can hint at or suggest a touch of warmth.

And while warm colors, hues and even some words or phrases can suggest some attribute of warmth, cold weather, specifically very cold weather, adds a bit of insouciance.

If you’ve spent most of your life in the northeast, a good number of you then understand finding this warmth. As the saying goes, “If you don’t like the weather, just wait a few minutes.”

Newport International Polo

If one would be literal about the sport of Polo, it could be more accurately described as “Field Hockey on Horses.” For  the cognoscenti, it’s known as the sport of kings.

The Newport International Polo Series just finished its season at the end of September. While polo is often touted as a high-brow event, the match I attended was that and surprisingly much more than I expected: family, dogs, picnics, lively conversation, kids playing about, grown ups playing Bocche Ball, a game of catch, etc. all away from the playing field.

A congenial atmosphere on the grounds made it easy to enjoy the match and for the neophytes among us, a chance to learn more about a sport that demands much from horse and rider.

An entertaining task—and fun for many—was the half-time tradition of the divot stomp.

 

 

 

 

Light Chaser-2

Because I’m more of a “night-owl” it’s somewhat easier for me to take photos towards the end of the day. Actually, the later part of a day is when my brain starts to ramp up. Most of my images are serendipitous, which by the way is, how a lot of photographs become interesting.

The space between me and the street below stands 25 floors. All the views I see are through a thick piece of window glass. None of our windows open, not even a crack. That’s a good thing because if these large windows were to open, I suspect we would see more bugs and some birds in our work space.

Dealing with glass not quite crystal clear and uniform is far better than trying to deal with insects and pigeons…well, for me anyway.

 

Light Chaser

Am I the only one–if not one of the very few–that doesn’t object to the return of “Eastern Standard Time” in New England?

I refer to this change as back to “real time” much to the chagrin of most everyone around me. There are plusses and minuses–like everything else–but for me, this is not a big deal and I for one like that extra hour of sleep.

Chasing the light with a camera in hand is very therapeutic for me.  The time of day, whether early or late, contains a salve that takes the edge off my depression.

Light can be a fantastic muse. It’s never exactly the same yet it can provide similar if not familiar feelings for one person to the next.  I love chasing the light…

 

 

Exterior Decorating: Not ready for Conde Nast

The renowned publisher Conde Nast has 22 brands, last I checked. Four readily come to mind: Vogue; GQ; Conde Nast Traveler and Vanity Fair. In the context of this post, those 4 magazines have been founts of creative thinking for my marketing side, editorially and commercially.

So, I took creative license to offer an ambiance of levity, a lack of seriousness if you will, because I wanted to share a distraction far from the banal and divisive intrusions that dilute attributes of hope, faith, tolerance, civility and last but not least—love.